France and Turkey preparing a 3-phase action plan for Iraqi Kurdistan

Diplomatic sources revealed that the head of the Turkish regime Recep Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron are working on developing a joint initiative to respond to the forthcoming independence referendum in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The Turkish newspaper Haberturk quoted unnamed diplomatic sources as saying that Erdogan and Macron plan to discuss the subject in detail on Tuesday during their meeting at the UN in New York, and will reportedly come up with a three-phase action plan.

The newspaper added that details of the Turkish response procedures will be revealed by the Turkish National Security Council during its meeting on September 22nd, however, Erdogan intends to propose Paris (as the first step) to launch a joint appeal to Erbil to abandon the referendum scheduled for September 25th.

In the second phase (if the Kurdish leadership does not respond to the appeal), Turkey and France will try to mediate between Erbil and Baghdad on matters related to the realization of the constitutional rights of the people of Iraqi Kurdistan province, and the fate of the disputed areas such as Kirkuk.

Should Erbil refuse to cancel the vote, Turkey proposed to Paris to impose a number of sanctions on the Kurdish entity, within the third phase of the plan.

Ankara also believes that this initiative could go beyond the bilateral framework, and might include any country wishing to influence the issue of the Kurdistan referendum.

Earlier, the ruling Barzani regime of Iraqi Kurdistan determined September 25th as the date of the referendum, with Baghdad strongly rejecting it, as it is unconstitutional.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi has already threatened with military intervention, should the referendum turn violent, while, at the same time, stressing his willingness to continue dialogue with Erbil.

Tehran also announced its strong opposition to the idea of ​​a Kurdish referendum, and has threatened to sever relations with the entity, as well as to close the part of the border it shares with Iraqi Kurdistan region, should the latter separate itself from Iraq.